“Yes,” Amber says, and Scarlett nods.
“Let’s do it, then.” Charlotte giggles enthusiastically anddisappears into one of the cubicles a second later. Amber and Scarlett take the next two, and I sigh as I enter the fourth.
The dress I took without thinking turns out to be a surprisingly good choice. The soft pink brings out the red of my hair, and the skirt swings smoothly around my legs and hits above my knees. I smile.Not bad at all.
“All right, time to show yourselves,” Charlotte trills, and if I didn’t already know that she’d drag me out of here herself if I refuse, I’d just stay where I am.
I step out from behind the curtain and almost choke on my own spit. She looks stunning. The wine-red satin dress clings to her body like a second skin.
“You look beautiful,” I say honestly, and Charlotte beams at me.
“Yes, isn’t it gorgeous?” She strokes the smooth fabric with both hands in awe. Then she eyes the dress I’m wearing and takes on a pitying expression. “Sweetie, that dress is really cute, but are you sure you want to wear it? You look pretty pale.”
“Do you think so?” Unsure, I take a step toward the mirror. Yes, I look pale. Because I am. My mom’s Irish ancestry has left its mark on me.
“Yes... well, you can still buy it, of course, but...” She lets the words trail off, but of course I know what she’s trying to say.I wouldn’t do that.
“Oh, Zoe, that dress is lovely!” Amber steps out of her cubicle and gives me a warm smile. “You look like a fairy.” Apparently, she didn’t hear my exchange with Charlotte; otherwise, she would never dare say such a thing. She never contradicts Charlotte.
Charlotte looks at her coldly. “I was just saying that Zoe looks a little too pale in that shade of pink.” She shrugs her narrowshoulders and wedges herself between me and the mirror. She gazes at her reflection in a way that makes me feel envious. Charlotte is way too aware of her own beauty. She has no complexes about that, like the rest of us.
“I think it’s about time I make a move on Jase, don’t you think?” she says, tapping her full lips thoughtfully with one manicured finger.
“What?” I blurt out before I can stop myself. My heart is suddenly beating way too fast, and I can feel the blood draining from my face.
No. No no no! Please, not again.
Either Charlotte doesn’t hear the horror in my voice or she ignores it. She turns around and admires her butt in the mirror. “I heard he’s going to the New England School of Ballet next year, and... well, if I go too, we’d be the perfect couple, wouldn’t we?”
“That’s your definition of the perfect couple?” Scarlett scoffs as she steps out of her changing room in a tight black dress.
I don’t hear Charlotte’s reply. My ears are buzzing, and I just want to leave. It’s silly, I know. But if she wants him, she’ll get him. Because Charlotte gets everything she wants. Just the thought that his secrets could easily be hers in the future makes me sick to my stomach.
My heart hurts. Everything hurts, and I realize I’m going to have to do something about it. It’s not about a game or secrets anymore. Now it’s about my heart. And maybe it’s about his too.
Chapter 14
Zoe
I’m scared that I’ll be stuck in Charlotte’s shadow forever. I know that sounds ridiculous, because someday we won’t even go to the same school anymore, but I still can’t shake the idea.
—P
Yawning, my limbs heavy, I sit on the floor in the ballet studio. I’m exhausted. I didn’t sleep well all weekend, which is no wonder, but it still sucks. You’d think it wouldn’t wear me out so much to lie in bed for two days, watching one show after another. Soon the episodes all blend together, and you don’t even know what they’re about anymore because your mind keeps wandering everywhere but the present. Mae tried to lure me out of my room twice, but I pretended I had a headache and holed up for a while. Yesterday evening, she just barged in with ice cream, chocolate, and a pot of tea and cuddled up on the bed with me. Then we started a new series, even though I was too distracted to follow it. She didn’t ask me what was wrong. Maybe she knew that she wouldn’t get an answer out of me anyway. But she stayed, in one day becoming a better friend to me than Charlotte was for almost fifteen years.
“Oh my God! Is that Charlotte Hammond?” Jessica asks breathlessly. She’s sitting right next to me, and her words seem unnaturally loud. Did she read my mind?
She pokes me. “Zoe, look! That’s Charlotte Hammond. In our class. Oh my God!”
All at once, I hear her voice, and my heart almost stops. The far too familiar, much too shrill voice that rings in my ears and doesn’t belong in this ballet studio.
“Oooh, Zoe, there you are!”
Somehow, I manage to get to my feet and turn around just in time to see Charlotte walking toward me with a beaming smile on her face. She moves so fluidly, and her steps are so light that it almost looks like she’s floating. She throws her arms around me, and I’m too shocked to avoid her—too shocked to react at all.
Charlotte is here. Why is she here?
My heart is racing, trying to escape from the cage of my ribs and run away. But it’s trapped, just like me. There’s a rushing sound in my ears. Charlotte lets go of me so she can look at me, but she’s still holding my arms. It’s terrible. It’s all completely wrong. I want to pull away, but I can’t move. My body is totally paralyzed. It’s shock; I’m sure of it. I was caught completely by surprise by her sudden appearance. She shouldn’t be here. Not in this course, not even in Boston. She’s supposed to be in Paris, where she spent the last year. Thousands of miles, but also an entire ocean, are supposed to be between us.
